Dear Mr. President,
You may have been living in Chicago for most of the past 23 years, but we know your Hawaiian roots run deep. There may be times when Washington will feel about as far from the islands as you can get and still be in the U.S., but the metropolitan area has a few Hawaiian resources accessible to all, in case you ever feel the need for some aloha.
FOOD
Makakoa Enterprises Luau on the White House's South Lawn? No worry, contact this catering company that specializes in Hawaiian food. They provide whole roasted pig for big events, but they also can simply deliver plate lunches to the Oval Office (or any other office, minimum order: 25). The plate lunch choices include kalua pork, laulau (pork cooked in taro leaf), lomi lomi salmon (a tomato and salmon ceviche salad), poi (taro), poke (raw fish salad), teriyaki beef, kimchi (pickled vegetables), macaroni salad, spring rolls, and, of course, two scoops of white rice.
York Castle Tropical Ice Cream It's Jamaican, not Hawaiian, but they do whip up in-house tropical ice cream flavors like coconut and guava. The shop is located just across the district line in Silver Spring, Maryland.
MUSIC AND DANCE
Mele.com This comprehensive website lists hula halaus (schools) and huis (groups) throughout the U.S. Some 16 halaus and huis are listed in the D.C. area, including Halau Ho'omau in Alexandria, VA which is headed by a locally based kumu hula (master teacher).
DC Dance Collective Gina Hartman teaches two hula classes at this Tenleytown dance studio, one for beginners, the other for intermediate and more advanced practitioners.
Joy of Motion Kaimana Chee teaches beginning hula at this popular, longtime dance center with four studios throughout the D.C. area. Chee also is the managing director of Hoaloha, a Maryland-based Polynesian music and dance ensemble.
Aloha Boys This group of Hawaiian transplants met while playing music for their children's hula performances at Arlington's Halau O 'Aulani. Now they play gigs all over town, from the Smithsonian to the Birchmere in Alexandria. They'll be bringing their popular, "acoustic down-home, backyard-style Hawaiian music" to the first ever (and very sold-out) Hawaii State Society Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20.
ART
National Museum of the American Indian This Smithsonian museum on the National Mall has several native Hawaiian artifacts in their collection, including a canoe and a pohaku, or ancestral stone, that can be found outside marking the museum's western cardinal direction.
Ramon Camarillo This award-winning potter specializes in raku ceramics, low-temperature fired pieces with roots in the ancient Japanese tea ceremony. Camarillo often spends time back in his native Hawaii, reconnecting with the place that inspires a lot of his work. He is a resident artist at the Lee Arts Center, in Arlington, Virginia.
EVENTS
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, May Throughout the month of May, the Smithsonian Institution presents several performances, films, talks, and family events, relating to Asian Pacific Islander heritage. This is a good time to catch hula performances by local and Hawaii-based halaus, storytellers, and master artisans demonstrating their craft. Venues on the Mall range from the National Museum of the American Indian to the Ripley Center.
Kamehameha Lei Draping Ceremony, June This major community event honors King Kamehameha whose statue, until recently, has stood in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall since 1969. With the opening of the new Capitol Visitors Center in December, the statue has been moved to the visitor center's Emancipation Hall. The 2009 ceremony takes place there Sunday, June 7. In addition to the draping of flower and ti-leaf leis on the statue, the highlight of the ceremony will be one massive hula performed by 250-300 of the area's hula students. Contact the Hawaii State Society after April 1 to register for the event. Only registered guests will be admitted.
